91Èȱ¬

• The Daily Service through the years
• The Daily Service from the 91Èȱ¬ Philharmonic at Media City
• The Daily Service Carol Concert 2023

Hymn: Fill thou my life, O Lord my God (tune: Arden) - verse 1

Fill thou my life O Lord my God in eve’ry part with praise! Good morning, I’m Angela Tilby. Welcome to this service of music and words in which we give special thanks to God for the 91Èȱ¬ Singers and their contribution to the musical life of the nation.

For nearly a century, the 91Èȱ¬ Singers have regularly supported the broadcast of radio worship, enabling a multitude of listeners to take part in the praise of God in their own homes.

I’m standing outside St Martin-in-the-Fields in Central London, overlooking Trafalgar Square. Inside are 91Èȱ¬ Singers are gathered, with the music for today’s service. They are directed this morning by Barry Rose, who first conducted them on the Daily Service in 1971. Andrew Lumsden’s on the organ, who played for the Daily Service for many years.

So this morning having in mind the many ways in which music enhances our lives, we give thanks to God.

Hymn: Fill thou my life, O Lord my God (verse 2)

Eternal Lord God, source of all beauty and harmony, we praise you for the gift of music: for the inspiration given to those who compose it, for the skill and devotion of those who perform it, for the faculties and powers which enable us to enjoy it; and we pray that as by this gift our lives are enriched and renewed, so we may glorify you in a fuller dedication of ourselves, giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Hymn: Fill thou my life, O Lord my God (verse 3)

Those words of Horatio Bonar were set to music by George Thalben-Ball who for many years was Organist at the Temple Church in London. He was a key figure in the development of broadcast worship, succeeding Sir Henry Walford Davis as Music Adviser to the Head of Religious Broadcasting.Ìý

A commitment to broadcast religion goes right back to the 91Èȱ¬â€™s beginnings. As the son of minister of the Free Church of Scotland, the 91Èȱ¬â€™s first Director General, John Reith ensured that the religious output was not controlled by any one church body, but was organised from within the 91Èȱ¬ itself. This meant that as religious broadcasting developed it drew in clergy and musicians from different churches and traditions. When I worked for the 91Èȱ¬â€™s religious department we had Methodists, Catholics, Baptists and Church of Scotland ministers on the staff, ordained and lay.

In 1928, after much lobbying from a regular listener, Miss Kathleen Cordeaux, the 91Èȱ¬ began to broadcast a Daily Service. For many years the 91Èȱ¬ Singers contributed to that service, providing the music for a simple liturgy broadcast live each weekday morning on the 91Èȱ¬ Service, later Radio 4. The prayers were produced in book form so listeners could follow – it was called ‘New Every Morning’. I have an edition from 1936 and another one from 1973, and I have to say, as one who frequently offers the prayers of intercession at services of Choral Evensong, New Every Morning has an astonishingly broad range of traditional and more recent prayers that still resonate today.

As well as prayers and hymns there was always a psalm or a canticle, usually sung to what we know of as Anglican Chant.

Here’s a setting of the twenty-fourth psalm, from The Broadcast Psalter, with music by George Thalben-Ball. The earth is the Lord’s and all that therein is: the compass of the world, and they that dwell therein.

Music: Psalm 24 (chant by George Thalben-Ball)

The Daily Service was initially broadcast from Savoy Hill off London’s Strand, later moving to a specially consecrated studio in Broadcasting House. I have a photograph of that studio as it was in 1936 – a room with high walls and no windows, with an illuminated cross on the back wall behind the speaker and a bunch of flowers in a vase beneath it. Oh, and a very large clock on the wall to ensure the programme did not overrun.

When I joined the 91Èȱ¬ in 1971 I was expected to do my turn at presenting the Daily Service. By this time it came from the famous Church designed by the architect John Nash next door to Broadcasting House, All Souls’ Langham Place.

I was always hugely impressed by the discipline of the eight members of the 91Èȱ¬ Singers Ìýwho took part in the Daily Service. When I started presenting it, John Poole was the chorus master, often with Barry Rose on the organ, and Barry, who is conducting this morning, was the last church musician to occupy the role of Music Adviser to the Head of Religious Broadcasting. Each morning eight of the singers would arrive early for rehearsal and a sound balance, and then, as the light flicked red, go live with a perfect musical call to worship, an introit often based on a Biblical text.Ìý Occasionally there were interruptions – on one occasion, a postman came into the church Ìýwith a delivery. He left the parcel at my feet and disappeared, quite unaware that a live broadcast was going on. Sometimes a police or ambulance siren cut through – which at least was an assurance to listeners that the programme was live.

In the 1990’s, the 91Èȱ¬ religion department moved to Manchester, but music on the Daily Service remained at the heart of the programme, through the newly formed Daily Service Singers, alongside contributions from choirs across the north-west and beyond.

Music: Upon your heart – Eleanor Daley (extract)

We pray for all who compose, perform and arrange music, for choirs and soloists, for beginners and students.

Lord God, keep in the safety of your love, all those who have received musical gifts, that they may share them faithfully with others, that they may be protected from the temptations and dangers of their calling and that they may come to know you as their source and inspiration through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Music: Upon your heart – Eleanor Daley (extract)

I was struck then, as I still am, by the 91Èȱ¬â€™s commitment not only to excellence in broadcasting of all kinds, but to the values which have been historically part of our culture. At root these are Christian values. In the entrance hall to Broadcasting House in London there is a quotation which has become known from the Latin word ‘Quaecumque’ –the word for ‘Whatsoever’. This introduces a quotation from the letter of Paul to the Phillipians. Here it is in its context, a call to joy and contentment in the presence of God, read from King James Bible:

Reading: Philippians 4. 4-9

The original 91Èȱ¬ motto is also a Biblical quotation, this time from the Book of Micah: ‘Nation shall speak peace unto nation’.

These words, together with a phrase from the inscription in Broadcasting House, were set to music by today’s conductor, Barry Rose, and were sung by the 91Èȱ¬ Singers with the choir of St Paul’s Cathedral at the 91Èȱ¬â€™s 60th anniversary service in 1982.

Music: Nation shall speak peace unto nation – Barry Rose

It’s impossible to imagine Christian worship without music. The first ÌýChristians modelled their worship on the pattern of the daily sacrifices of the Jewish temple and among the earliest hymns we have are hymns of praise for morning and the evening. And then there were the psalms. The 150 Psalms in the Bible include psalms of praise for creation, psalms of rejoicing for victory in battle, psalms of penitence and psalms which pointed to the Messiah, the Son of David. For the first Christians the psalms could be taken as prophecies of the life, death and resurrection of Christ and, whether chanted or recited, they have always played a part in worship. Sing to the Lord a new song is a phrase which encourages us to open our mouths and sing!

And as we do we find we are in tune with nature, with the rising and the setting of the sun, the changing seasons, and perhaps as importantly, with the rhythms of our own bodies and our breathing. As air is breathed in, the two muscular bands that we call vocal chords begin to vibrate alternately trapping air and expelling it. We can turn this expulsion of air into a wave of sound, a note, which in the Western musical tradition is based on the tones of the major and minor scales. Other creatures can make sounds, think of birds of course and whales, but only humans have this extraordinary ability to match their voices to particular rhythms and pitches, to compose, to harmonise, and so to express wonder, sorrow and praise. I remember how C.S Lewis in his novels of Narnia described the lion Aslan, ‘singing’ the world into being. It seemed appropriate somehow.Ìý

Music: Upon your heart – Eleanor Daley (extract)

Eternal Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named; united us in our worship with all who in other places lift up their hearts in prayer and their voices in song, that your whole Church on earth, with the angels and saints in heaven may offer one sacrifice of praise, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Music: Upon your heart – Eleanor Daley (extract)

Singing is both a gift and a privilege. Throughout their history, the 91Èȱ¬ Singers have recruited singers from all over the country and from many different backgrounds. Some have stayed part of the ensemble for many years, whilst others have moved on to become conductors, or well-known soloists. Former members of the 91Èȱ¬ Singers include Sir Peter Pears, Harry Christophers, Sarah Connolly, and the composer Bob Chilcott who is the Choir’s current principal guest conductor.

Reflection: Bob Chilcott

The 91Èȱ¬ Singers have premiered hundreds of major works by contemporary composers. In 1972 the 91Èȱ¬ Singers premiered a special commission from the Welsh composer William Mathias in a broadcast of Choral Evensong, and this morning, they’re going to sing it again.

The joyful Latin text in praise of God comes from the 13th Century Worcester fragments – a collection of 25 pieces of short vocal music – Alleluia psallat, haec (hake) familia.

Music: Alleluia Psallat – William Mathias

Looking back in time we are very fortunate that choral music survived the Reformation when so much of the music of the monasteries was lost. The change of the liturgy from Latin into English produced the first English compositions, with the strict instruction to composers to write just one note to each syllable – the earlier medieval polyphony was banned. John Merbecke wrote a setting of the new English Communion Service which is still in regular use, and composers such as William Byrd and Orlando Gibbons all produced settings of English texts, as did Thomas Tallis, who set words of Christ from the 14th Chapter of St John’s Gospel ‘If ye love me keep my commandments’.

Music: If ye love me – Thomas Tallis

Music survived in the English church because Henry VIII was a lover of music and though he disestablished the monasteries he virtually re-founded two colleges with their own choirs and choral traditions, Trinity College Cambridge, and Christ Church Oxford. Towards the end of his life he also finished the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge Ìýwhose famous choir is heard all over the world in its annual festival of nine lessons and carols. Henry’s daughter Queen Elizabeth 1st was also a music lover and made sure that the best music was available in her private chapel, and even protected Catholic composers such as William Byrd from Reformation restrictions.Ìý

The English choral tradition is still an important part of our national musical life. It provides an introduction for children, girls now as well as boys, to a skill which they will value into adulthood and inspirational words and music which they will never forget. When I was a Canon of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford it used to delight meÌý every year when new choristers joined the choir and over the months and years, discovered the joys of singing in a sacred space. One former chorister confessed that he still missed the discipline of early morning rehearsals and daily services. Several choristers and choral scholars from cathedrals and colleges have been, and still are, members of the 91Èȱ¬ Singers.

And contemporary composers also bring their own talent and insights to the long and continuing tradition of church music.

Music: A Song of Judith – Lucy Walker

Reflection: Lucy Walker

Contemporary composers also respond to newer texts. In early 1978, the priest and writer William Vanstone produced words for a hymn based on his book ‘Love’s Endeavour Love’s Expense’. This was first sung in a Daily Service that year, to music that Barry Rose wrote specially for the 91Èȱ¬ Singers:

Music: Morning glory, starlit sky – Barry Rose

The Lord’s Prayer

And as we draw to a close a hymn that is special to the 91Èȱ¬ – with words by a former Poet-laureate Robert Bridges to the tune Langham Place, specially written by Barry Rose for the 91Èȱ¬ Singers to sing in the Daily Service.

It ends with the hope that even out of the darkness of our troubled world, all creation, may come at last to God’s marvellous light. ‘Love, unto thine own who camest, Condescending, whom thine own received not.

Hymn: Love unto thine own who camest (t. Langham Place)

And now may the angels of God support you, the mighty host of God defend you, the powers of God revive you and the Love of God sustain you all the days of your earthly pilgrimage, and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be with you always. Amen.

Organ Voluntary: Carillon – Herbert Murrill

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